Flaws and Imperfections…

Flaws and Imperfections…11-12-25

A source of enjoyment, peace, comfort, and therapy for me has been wood working. I found out that I could take a simple jigsaw, what used to be a man's toy, and make a new creation. I know, don't call me sexist because I referred to a jigsaw as a man's toy. To be honest, I grew up in an era where women and men had separate roles, separate responsibilities, separate passions and enjoyments, and even separate jobs that were designated by gender. This slowly changed throughout my lifetime and many of the things once thought to be for men or women only has overlapped. For example, now it is not only acceptable, but welcomed for women to enjoy wood working and men to enjoy cooking. That explanation being clear, I love to take a piece of thing wood and create a pattern, then pull out my paints, and watch the wood come to life. I love to mix the paints, try new color pallettes, and even paint over something and try again. I have only made a couple of pieces in the past four years. I used to make a hundred or more pieces each year for various people, occasions, and gifts. I am very rusty. I am always very critical of my pieces. I see every imperfection and every flaw. I find myself trying to fix these flaws, and only making things worse. I usually take several weeks to complete any project. I will tell you that each flaw is the character of the piece. The imperfections are what makes each piece unique. I couldn't replicate the piece if I wanted, although sometimes I would like to scrap and start over, and have on occasion.

In this piece above, I can see that the engine in the middle is not perfectly round, the outlining is thick in places and thin in others. The gray piece in the middle is not symmetrical on both ends. The colors overlap. The dots are not perfectly round, spaced the same amount, or symmetrical on each side. There is nothing that is "perfect". We are taught to see each imperfection, each mistake in the paint, and each flaw as a sign of our weakness or inability. God doesn't see us that way. “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7.

You see, God sees us as His hands, His heart, and His body. He cherishes our being. He looks at our purpose, our motives, our love. Oh, he sees our sins (imperfections and flaws), but covers them with a coat of paint (his blood). He washes us in white. The color that can cover any other color. He doesn't see our dents, stains, scrapes, and scratches, as we see them. He sees our willingness and obedience. We see ourselves as the world sees us. God sees us with eyes of love, and we are perfectly and wonderfully made. How can I say that I am not good enough, when God made me? How can I belittle my imperfections, when I am His hands, His voice, His body? I will embrace every flaw and every imperfection. I will work toward the day when I stand before Him with a new body, am a new creation, because I am perfectly His. Psalm 139:14, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well".